Posted on 01/22/2004 9:02:31 AM PST by quidnunc
On January 16, two more Defendants pleaded guilty in the Alexandria, Virginia Federal “paintball” terror case that began this summer with the arrest and indictment of eleven men from varied backgrounds who came together in the Virginia countryside to engage in what they initially claimed was innocent game playing. These latest guilty pleas, bringing the total to six in the case, are clear victories for the Government.
The Defendants were Randall Royer and Ibrahim Al-Hamdi and both entered guilty pleas to Federal firearms violations related to the case, with Royer also pleading to an explosives violation. These Defendants will be sentenced at a later date, and trials are set for the remaining Defendants.
When the arrests were first made, there was no shortage of criticism from some about how “trivial” the case appeared to be. Maybe the Government had really gone too far this time, arresting a group of Muslims whose only offense was enjoying a make-believe martial pastime in the hinterlands. But, even at the outset there were clear hints that things were serious. Royer had been stopped in his car and found with a real assault rifle and over 200 rounds of ammunition. Search warrants at various residences recovered financial records and alleged radical Islamic literature. Of course, prosecutors could not reveal much, and the case had to move its way through the regular criminal justice system, as it properly should.
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